Monday, July 15, 2013

Justice, Justice, Ye Shall Pursue

Let me begin by saying my
birthday last week was a dandy one, commencing with a delightful little surprise
of a party and ending with a wonderful evening at La Belle Vie with Handy and
my in-town kids. The cocktails were lovely, the dinner astounding, and the company
was great fun. Perhaps we be will lucky
enough to have senior son and significant other in town for the next adventure…which
would be wonderful. Official thanks must go to Pajama Guy and his lady for the
gift certificate to what is ostensibly the best restaurant in Minneapolis.

The news, however, is less
delightful.

I cannot say I was surprised
by the verdict Trayvon Martin murder trial; disgusted maybe, disappointed
definitely. But not surprised.

When Judge Debra S. Nelson
instructed the jury that they might consider manslaughter as an alternative
charge, I was momentarily hopeful that they jury would have a viable path
to conviction. Unfortunately, the 6 ladies of the jury did not see it that way.
I don’t pretend to understand how they decided George Zimmerman shot a kid at point blank range in self-defense. But.....

I
know why Mr. Zimmerman did not take the stand in his own defense - he
didn't need to. There were moments during the defense's presentation when I
thought I was listening to a modern version of "We Both Reached For The
Gun." As that silver tongued Prince of the Courtroom Billy
Flinn would say,

Understandable, understandable

Yes it's perfectly understandable

Comprehensible, Comprehensible

Not a bit reprehensible

It's so defensible.

Actually, according to Florida law, it's totally defensible, and the jury agreed

By the letter of the law, it does not matter who provoked the event. Nor does it matter that George Zimmerman had a gun. By opting for a self-defense trial, the burden of proof was on the prosecution. It was their job to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that George Zimmerman did not believe his life was in danger. If at any moment during the fight he believed Trayvon Martin was trying to kill him, then the gun was fired in self-defense. To separate the self-defense contention from the vigilante/stand-your-ground version of events, Judge Nelson issued a ruling early on which disallowed the use of the term "racial profiling" but would not prevent phrases like "wanna-be cop." She effectively limited the idea of race being presented as a motivating factor. The judge (rightfully so) guided the trial based on the position of self-defense only.

Since racial profiling could not be introduced as a factor in Mr. Zimmerman's following the kid, the jury never really got to hear how many time Mr. Zimmerman had called the local cops in the past to report suspicious black teenagers in the neighborhood. Apparently he did that quite a lot. Did he report white teenagers? Apparently not. Were the black kids he called in arrested and successfully prosecuted for property crimes in that neighborhood? Since no one mentioned his success rate, I'm guessing the answer is no. But none of that was admissible in Judge Nelson's court, so it has no bearing on the case.

Truth is Mr. Zimmerman's trial was done very precisely and as close to constitutionally rigid as possible. Judge Nelson was very clear and precise in all her instructions to to jury to keep their process as free from passion possible. By defining the absolute letter of the law, the only thing the jury had to decide is whether or not Mr. Zimmerman believed his life was in imminent danger.

However, was justice truly served?Not really. What we know from the inadmissible evidence is that even if Mr. Zimmerman was not known as a racist, he was a profiler. He went after a kid armed with a bag of Skittles. The kid acted in self-defense, but Mr. Martin was not the one left standing, therefore he doesn't get a vote. Would the outcome have been different if the colors were reversed or Mr. Martin had been the one with the gun? Probably. And that is scant comfort to the parents who have buried a child. Mr. Zimmerman's troubles are far from over. There will be a civil wrongful death suit, and while highly unlikely, the DoJ will investigate to see if there is a chargeable violation of Trayvon Martin's civil rights. So sit back, relax, and wait for Act II.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch in Texas, the war on women's health continues. News levels of astounding included the confiscation of tampons and maxi-pads at the state house because security was concerned that women were going to hurl those at legislators. Loaded guns, however, are still permitted. Just how scared are those guys are of women? Honestly, I don't get how any woman can vote for guys who want them to be nothing more than incubators. How do you look in the mirror and say, "I'm okay with being a second class citizen with minimal control over my own body functions?

Bah humbug; I hold by my original thought: let 'em secede. Let 'em go back to bein' their very own rootin' tootin' republic. That way they can teach whatever they want in their classrooms and not get one silver dime from the US to support it. They can chain and shackle the wimmin' that wanna stay there any ol' way they want. Offer the rest of the womenfolk amnesty to cross the border into the 21st century. That should do it.

Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Having a spare freezer in the basement or the garage is not the worst idea on the planet.

You never know when the ol' reliable SubZero is gonna decide to stop freezing.

9 comments:

You are absolutely correct on the second use of the term. Although it was defined as racial profiling in the initial description, the omission of "racial" in the second use was an oversight on my part. Thank you.

So glad to hear that you had an enjoyable birthday celebration. Sounds like a lot of delicious events! Zimmerman, Trayvon, tampon and maxi-pads confiscation ... time to reconsider Canada?!?BTW, having an extra fridge/freezer is almost a must when teenage boys are in the picture!

This whole aftermath of Zim/Mar reminds me of an old Frankenstein movie, where the mob with torches held high storm the castle. Or the Wild West where the lynch mob storms the jail. Seriously, this is why we are not a democracy, but a constitutional republic. We have courts. Obama says we are a country of law. Yeah- right, when you want to apply it. Pathetic. I'm so sick of this country's mentality, I wanna puke. And to prove my point that we are a rudderless country with 'no good to come of it' is that at the same time as this zim/mar debacle, we have another trial going on- Nadal Hassan- who killed 13 Americans- no.....he slaughtered them. Can you hear the pin drop?????? God Bless Ameritopia- Pffft.

Six good reasons for Texas to secede:1. Rick Perry would then be president of Texas and not interested in being president of the US (or eligible, come to think of it, as a non-US-citizen)2. People from one of the other 49 states would need a passport to visit Texas. More work for the passport office. Maybe they could hire a few more people. 3. The vast number of undocumented workers in Texas could immediately become citizens of the new country. After all, they didn't break Texas law by moving to Texas, only US law. 4. The Wright amendment would immediately become null and void and all airlines could start using Love Field to fly to and from the US.5. Texas would have to implement an income tax, as they would lose the huge subsidy they now get from the rest of the country. They would have a very large military to support. 6. Rosetta Stone could make a fortune by teaching Americans how to speak Texan and vice versa.

LINGUA GALACTICA

DREAM DANCER

About Me

I am a widow, a mother, a mother-in-law, a daughter, a daughter-in-law, a grandmother, and I guess since I also have a grandpuppy, that makes me a grandbitch. On the other side of living, I'm playwright, director, and novelist. I have the requisite day job for insurance and steady taxable income. You can now like me on Facebook now, too - just put THE WIFELY PERSON in your search box! https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Wifely-Person/163546490391811 OR write to me at thewifelyperson@gmail.com